A human case of West Nile virus has been confirmed in Simcoe County.
The Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit is urging people to take extra precautions against mosquito bites, after recent laboratory results confirmed the first human case of the virus in the region in 2018.
So far, the health unit has not been able to identify where the person contracted the virus, as they had recently done some traveling outside of the province.
“Late summer and early fall is the time when the risk of acquiring West Nile virus from a bite actually increases. As long as mosquitoes continue to be active, we need to take precautions to protect ourselves from the virus,” says Dr. Charles Gardner, Medical Officer of Health for the Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit.
The health unit says locally, West Nile virus activity remains within historical norms.
The majority of people infected with the disease are asymptomatic, but possible symptoms are fever, headache, body aches, nausea, vomiting or rashes on various parts of the body.
